Pottstown House Explosion Kills 5

Update: Patch has learned that Pottstown officials will give an update on this story at 12 noon Friday. Follow along here for the latest developments.

POTTSTOWN, PA — Five people were killed in a house explosion in Pottstown Thursday night, officials confirmed.

The explosion happened a little after 8 p.m. at a home along Washington Street and Butler Avenue.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

Officials from The Pottstown Fire Department, Pottstown Police, Pennsylvania State Police, ATF, Fire Marshals Office and the Red Cross are investigating at the scene.

The borough confirmed that four people died in the blast and that two people were transported to area hospitals for treatment of unspecified injuries.

Officials also had information that two other individuals may still be unaccounted for.

"This is an ongoing investigation," the borough posted to its Facebook page. "Information is still being obtained and will be disseminated once we have it available."

Neighbors in the area reported hearing a loud blast at the time of the explosion. "I thought a bomb went off. I thought somebody dropped a bomb somewhere," neighbor Russell Noll told NBC10 Philadelphia.

Resident Steven Diamond told Fox 29 that the scene outside the explosion "looked like an apocalypse."

All schools in the Pottstown School District are closed Friday due to the emergency.

Borough officials said that any affected resident who needs assistance should go to Pottstown Senior High School at 750 North Washington Street, where the Red Cross would provide onsite assistance.

This is a breaking story and will be updated as more information becomes available.